ComplaintsforThe Biltmore Company

• Initial Complaint

  02/22/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I purchased 3 tickets for a rooftop tour, along with a one-night stay at the ************* at Biltmore for July 2023. I had to reschedule and was told that I would have 6 months to choose another date sometime within a year. In November 2023, I rescheduled the hotel stay for a date in ***** **** and at the time was told that I would need to call back closer to ***** in order to schedule the time for the rooftop tour. Today, (2/21/24), I called to attempt to schedule the rooftop tour and was told that I had lost my rooftop tour tickets back in July 2023. I paid $150 for the 3 tickets and was told that my only option would be to pay another $130. I would like the company to either give me 3 rooftop tickets valid for 4/15/24 or give me a refund.

  Business response

  02/22/2024

  Dear ******************, 

  Thank you for contacting Biltmore and for taking my call today. Rooftop tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable once purchased. However, as we discussed we have exchanged your Rooftop tickets from July to April 15, ****, at 12:30 p.m. as a one-time exception. You should momentarily see an email from our ticketing partner, ****. 

  Please let us know if we may be of further assistance. 

  Sincerely, 

  *******************************
  The Biltmore Company
  Reservation Sales and Guest Support
  

  Customer response

  02/22/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to my complaint, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Thank you. 
  

• Initial Complaint

  01/22/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  My husband and I stayed in room 573 at The Inn at Biltmore (we had a two night stay that started 12/15 and ended 12/17) at the Chateau level (the priciest level) for our 6 year wedding anniversary. We had a very poor night's sleep on 12/15 as our room had a malfunctioning smoke alarm that went off 4 times between 2 and 4 am. It also involved engineers needing to enter our room twice during that window to try to fix it which felt uncomfortable for me as a young female in pajamas, and they were on a ladder over the bed attempting to fix the alarm. The smoke alarm continued to go off two additional times after the engineers left for the second time so all in all it was a horrible night for both of us. We also were unable to be seated for the brunch on 12/16 we had pre-paid for as part of our room package because it was too busy, even though we came over an hour before brunch was supposed to end, so we had to get brunch to go which felt a lot less special than what we thought we had pre-paid for. Because of this poor experience in the top tier room level, we were hoping to be refunded for the first night and the brunch, to make up for what we endured. The room was over $1000 per night, and we spent a total of $3825.95 on the property between two nights in the room + tickets for the Biltmore House and wine tasting + falconry + two dinners + shopping on the property (the point of me disclosing this is that we are not here for a money grab, we simply wish to be refunded for the extremely poor experience the first night in the room and at brunch, about $1200ish of a refund). We reached out the the Biltmore House on 12/15, and were told they would get back to us in a prompt manner, but it has been over 5 weeks and they still do not have an answer or resolution provided to us despite us reaching out multiple times within that window, which forced me to have to go to the BBB in hopes of a resolution.

  Business response

  01/30/2024

  Dear *****************, 

  We are saddened to hear of your experience at The Inn on Biltmore Estate and that you have not received an appropriate response regarding this matter. We have escalated this issue to senior management at The Inn so that this can be properly addressed. 

  We appreciate your continued patience as we work on a resolution for you. A member of our team will reach out to as soon as possible. 

  Thank you, 

  *******************

  Centralized Guest Recovery Supervisor

  Customer response

  02/05/2024

  We requested a refund for the full amount we were charged for our first night given the very poor experience we described at length, which we felt would be a fair resolution, especially considering when we checked into our hotel, we were given a letter from the Senior Director of Resort Operations stating "In keeping with the Vanderbilt tradition of world-class service and gracious hospitality, our mission is to exceed your expectations with our service and accommodations" - and our experience was far from that. The Biltmore did not bother to reply to our inquiry specifically requesting a full refund, and given that we need to state whether we accept the response from the business within 5 days, we have no choice but to select that we do not accept their response as their response to this request was never provided.
  

• Initial Complaint

  01/02/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased three tickets for the ******* Renaissance, self guided House tour, and carriage ride on Nov 10,2023( Order ID: **********. I cancelled one ticket on Dec 19,2023. I then reinstated this ticket on Dec 22,2023. I was recharged for this ticket and told the refund for the other ticket would take 5-7 business days. (Order ID: ***********) I never received an email for the refund and it is now been 8 business days excluding Holiday. 2) The reinstated ticket did not work. I was stopped at every ticket scanner claiming that my ticket was invalid. (Order ID: ************* only did I never receive my refund, but the ticket I was given was invalid. I want a refund for the invalid ticket and my refund that was not processed. 1st total price: $633.06 + 219.58(additional payment for invalid reinstatedticket)Now total price: $861.20- without refund.

  Business response

  01/09/2024

  Dear Ms. ********, 

  We are sorry to hear of this experience. Your case has been assinged to a member of our Guest Support team for research. We will be contacting you as soon as possible to review our findings with you. 

  We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your continued patience as we investigate this. 

  Kind regards, 

  *******************;

  Reservation Sales and Guest Support Supervisor

• Initial Complaint

  10/20/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I visited the Biltmore on October 14. It was actually on our 1 year anniversary. The visit to the estate I must say the estate its self and property are stunning. HOWEVER, this ticket that I purchased included the following:Daytime visit to Biltmore House with an Audio Guide ***** Acres of Gardens and Grounds **************************** Complimentary Wine Tasting Complimentary Parking **** acres sounds like a lot, and the complimentary wine tasting sounds great as well. Here is the issues I had.1.) When we got to the grounds the place was so packed every trail we had to continuously pass people, wait for people with kids/eldery, just while walking around the estate it was troubling to get around. It was not enjoyable at all.2.) After walking around the paths for about an hour, not being able to enjoy it much we got in line to see the house. We had a specific time reservation which I believe was to keep it comfortable while walking around the house. That's not true at all. This place was JAMMED pack. Even with a time reservation we had to wait 25 minutes in a line. Then, once we got into the house I had a panic attack because of how absolutely slammed it was. They did not even let me take my water in. Additionally, it's noisy because everyone is holding up an audio device. I was stuck behind people, couldn't really move around and was continuously held up. 3.) We went to get our complimentary wine tasting and they told us it's a 45 minute wait. This is ridiculous! We had a late ticket, so there wasn't really much time. We ended up having to purchase wine because the complimentary tasting was such a long wait. I will likely never go back to this place, and will cherish it from afar and from online. I would like a full refund for our tickets as our visit was not enjoyable at all and we weren't able to get all of our benefits.

  Business response

  10/24/2023

  Dear *****, 

  Thank you for contacting Biltmore, and for your comments regarding your recent visit. We are sorry to read of your disappointment with the volume of guests inside Biltmore House and wait times inside of The Winery. We do our very best to ensure everyone's enjoyment while visiting Biltmore, and we apologize that in your case we did not succeed.
  
  October is a very popular time of year to visit Biltmore due to the fall foliage. House entry times are required for each guest wishing to enter Biltmore House so that we are able to better control the flow of traffic inside. However, there are still days of increased visitation on the estate and within Biltmore House. We apologize that this did not meet your expectations and negatively impacted your visit. We appreciate you sharing your comments with us. We greatly value and encourage feedback from our guests, as it plays an invaluable role in our decision-making process for any future changes. We will be sure to share your message with the appropriate leadership teams to be taken into consideration. In light of the situation, we have provide a full refund in the amount of $272.86 back to the original credit card used to purchase the tickets. Please allow **** business days for the refund to reflect on your baking statement. 

  Please let us know if we may be of further assistance. 

  Sincerely, 

  *******************************
  The Biltmore Company
  Reservation Sales and Guest Support

• Initial Complaint

  12/19/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am very upset about my visit today. Let me state I have been several times with no problem but today it was freezing outside and we ordered a hot apple cider at the cafe. It was so hot I have burned my tongue and lips severely. I cant imagine what would have happen if I had given it to a child. I am trying to find something to help heal this and take away the pain. You should take more care to test your products!!

  Business response

  12/19/2022

  We have emailed the guest and also reinstated their tickets for a future visit. response in help ******- 541246

   

• Initial Complaint

  05/12/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Had to cancel my stay due to bizarre behavior by staff, including stalking and inappropriate conduct. I am owed a refund.

  Business response

  05/24/2022

  there was no evidence of harassment or stalking by any of our staff. The guest stayed one night. Placed a do not disturb on the door. No one entered her room during her stay and she departed. I have run a full investigation and there is no evidence that any inappropriate behavior occurred by our staff. 

  Customer response

  05/26/2022

   
  Complaint: 17192564
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

   

  They lied. I did not stay the night. I took the sign off by 8 PM. Their staff was behaving bizarrely and harassing me. They showed up while I was at the elevator going up to my room, then showed up at my room after I got up there.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  10/19/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Booked a cottage room in September ****************** January 2022, based on website information about a private chef cooking in the room. Called the business a few days later and learned that due to covid the private chef experience was altered and instead the meals are left at the door. I said ok that's cool, Covid changes a lot, but based on the fact the information on the website was inaccurate for current offerings, I would like to switch to a regular room instead. They re-booked me but charged a "cancellation" fee stating that they were giving me a discount cancellation fee of $125 instead of $250. I think the fee is unwarranted because I relied on their inaccurate information, they did not suffer harm as they had five months to sell the cottage room to someone else and I didn't cancel, I asked for a room that was as described. The lady I spoke with said she would escalate to management. They never contacted me and ignored a complaint from the **************************

  Business response

  11/10/2021

  Good Evening ******************, 

   

  Thank you for contacting Biltmore. We apologize for the delayed response and we appreciate your patience. We have refunded your **** card ending in **** in the amount of $125. Please note it will take 3-5 business days for that refund to reflect on your banking statement. If you would like to discuss this situation further, please contact me directly at ************.  

  Once again, I sincerely apologize for the experience you have endured. Please let me know if I may be of further assistance.

   

  Sincerely, 

   

  *******************************

• Initial Complaint

  05/30/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased tickets for the Christmas viewing at The Biltmore on 09/08/2020 for a total of $988.68.. (Order# XXXXXXXXX). However, due to the pandemic we were not able to go at the reserved time, as I am a nurse, and was advised by the hospital as well as our governor not to leave the state. I called prior to the schedule date of our viewing to inform them of this, and that's when they informed me that the tickets would only be good until October 2021. Due to the fact that majority of the people who were supposed to be going are now unable to go before the tickets expire in October this year I called and requested my money back. I have called numerous times since and spoke with multiple people, including the manager who informed me there is absolutely no refunds. We paid more for the Christmas tickets than regular tickets, and sadly most of those in our party do not have vacation time until December of 2021.

  Business response

  06/09/2021

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2021/06/03) */ Good morning Ms. ******* Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and feedback. We are sorry to hear you were unable to visit with us last year and that your party won't be able to utilize the Candlelight Christmas Evening tickets as daytime tickets by 10/31/2021. As a one time exception, we have processed your request for a refund so that your party can purchase Candlelight Christmas Evening tickets for this holiday season. Please allow 3-5 business days for the refund to post. We appreciate your services as frontline healthcare workers during this difficult year and look forward to seeing you on the estate this holiday season. Warm regards,

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩